On June 26, 2012, the GAB offered some guidance to County Clerks at their annual Summer Symposium because of a large number of public records requests submitted to county clerks with respect to voted ballots and other records related to the conduct of the June 5, 2012 recall election.

Our written response to one such requestor is attached above. This response offers some basic information about the treatment of election materials, particularly voted ballots, with respect to Wisconsin’s Public Records Law.

As always, clerks are advised to discuss any public records requests with their corporation counsel, who is charged with advising them on compliance with public records law. If you have any questions, please contact our Help Desk at (608) 261-2028 or gabhelpdesk@wi.gov.